Gauguin, van Gogh and Cézanne belong to the generation which came after the Impressionists. Impressionism had paved the way for utterly new ways of painting, and the period 1885-1900 was that of artistic experiment.

The desire to try something new, both in the choice of motifs and technique, as well as in combination of colours, brought about the emergence of several different artistic trends.

These artists were not bound by academic norms, but decided their own premises for their painting. There was no longer a single predominant style, dictated by salons and academies of art, but several different approaches to painting.